[linux] X11/Xlib.h not found in Ubuntu

I'm trying to write a rather trivial program using open gl on linux, but at a compile time it says:

Compile thumb : egl <= cuberenderer.c In file included from /path/include/egl.h:36, from /path/cuberenderer.c:7: /path/include/eglplatform.h:89:22: error: X11/Xlib.h: No such file or directory /path/include/eglplatform.h:90:23: error: X11/Xutil.h: No such file or directory

I'm totally new to GL and have no idea what's wrong.

This question is related to linux opengl-es compiler-errors

The answer is


A quick search using...

apt search Xlib.h

Turns up the package libx11-dev but you shouldn't need this for pure OpenGL programming. What tutorial are you using?

You can add Xlib.h to your system by running the following...

sudo apt install libx11-dev

Andrew White's answer is sufficient to get you moving. Here's a step-by-step for beginners.

A simple get started:

Create test.cpp: (This will be built and run to verify you got things set up right.)

#include <X11/Xlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>


main()
{
  // Open a display.
  Display *d = XOpenDisplay(0);

  if ( d )
    {
      // Create the window
      Window w = XCreateWindow(d, DefaultRootWindow(d), 0, 0, 200,
                   100, 0, CopyFromParent, CopyFromParent,
                   CopyFromParent, 0, 0);

      // Show the window
      XMapWindow(d, w);
      XFlush(d);

      // Sleep long enough to see the window.
      sleep(10);
    }
  return 0;
}

(Source: LinuxGazette)

Try: g++ test.cpp -lX11 If it builds to a.out, try running it. If you see a simple window drawn, you have the necessary libraries, and some other root problem is afoot.

If your response is:

    test.cpp:1:22: fatal error: X11/Xlib.h: No such file or directory
    compilation terminated.

you need to install X11 development libraries. sudo apt-get install libx11-dev

Retry g++ test.cpp -lX11

If it works, you're golden.

Tested using a fresh install of libX11-dev_2%3a1.5.0-1_i386.deb


Presume he's using the tutorial from http://www.arcsynthesis.org/gltut/ along with premake4.3 :-)

sudo apt-get install libx11-dev ................. for X11/Xlib.h
sudo apt-get install mesa-common-dev........ for GL/glx.h
sudo apt-get install libglu1-mesa-dev ..... for GL/glu.h
sudo apt-get install libxrandr-dev ........... for X11/extensions/Xrandr.h
sudo apt-get install libxi-dev ................... for X11/extensions/XInput.h

After which I could build glsdk_0.4.4 and examples without further issue.


Why not try find /usr/include/X11 -name Xlib.h

If there is a hit, you have Xlib.h

If not install it using sudo apt-get install libx11-dev

and you are good to go :)